Companies continue to miss the mark in their quest for Sales Force Automation (SFA), overlooking the most critical success factor-the user. In technology deployment, the implementation team assumes the intended users only have a baseline level of computer discipline but frequently mistake the lack of technology use as low literacy on computers. This leads them to adopt unsuitable training techniques. In reality, today's sales department are mostly made up of users who have been exposed to computers but who have never had to use them consistently and struggle to grasp how much strategic value SFA will have. An SFA project's success hinges on creating a situation where both sales representatives and managers can reap the benefits of the SFA tools but all too often they haven't relied on technology as a strategic tool to meet objectives.

Their compensation and job performance are very quantifiable, based on how well they do against a set of revenue targets so inevitably they tend to define SFA in terms of its usefulness handling the transactions they normally work on. The SFA market has done a good job of selling the benefits of SFA tools to drive sales performance but, having convinced companies to purchase systems, there is intense pressure to achieve a strong return on investment. To ensure a successful SFA implementation, companies need to set realistic expectations and consider issues that are unique when deploying the system.

The main purpose of the author in discussing the various aspects of SFA is to

(A) explain how difficult it is to get any return on investment from SFA
(B) discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of SFA
(C) point out how companies are missing out on getting maximum benefit from SFA
(D) criticize the SFA market for not having trained the users well enough in SFA
(E) present the idea that SFA is only useful practically in keeping transactional entries



According to the passage, traditional training approaches are inappropriate for SFA projects because

(A) the number of SFA users is too low and the users are too inexperienced
(B) user management teams lack experience to properly define transactional goals
(C) these attempt to correct a perceived technology ignorance among SFA users
(D) these fail to improve computer literacy, a missing component among users
(E) these are not capable of helping companies accurately define transactional goals as needed



3. The author implies which of the following regarding SFA in recommending that SFA be used optimally?

(A) SFA is a perfect tool to keep track of transactional goals of the sales teams.
(B) SFA can be used for much more than just handling transactions.
(C) SFA can yield a lot of quantifiable benefits to the managers of the sales force.
(D) SFA can be used to keep track of the revenue targets set to the sales force.
(E) SFA must be used only by experienced users who can maximize its benefits.



According to the passage, what does the effective implementation of SFA projects depend on?

(A) training users for more than baseline functions of SFA
(B) making sure managers and sales staff meet SFA goals
(C) ensuring staff accepts SFA into their routines
(D) raising the literacy level of SFA trainers
(E) quantifying job performance against revenue goals



The author would most likely agree with which of the following actions of a company as being crucial to a positive outcome for SFA projects?

(A) Properly training the training staff
(B) Defining SFA applications in terms of the nature of transactions and goals
(C) Factoring in organizational characteristics to accordingly set attainable goals
(D) Intensifying the pressure on managers to achieve a return on SFA investments
(E) Linking use of sales performance with SFA to ensure return on investment